A Slayer in Manhattan
by Buffy1987
Summary: Buffy comes to New York after a fall out with her friends, and she bumps into someone unexpected. And, contrary to her theory, it's not a robot.
1. Chapter 1

It was a cold November night when Buffy Summers' flight from Scotland landed in New York.

She was alone, sad and worried because she had no idea where to go and what to do.

She only had a couple of hundred dollars in her pocket and she hoped she'd find a job soon because otherwise she'd be really fucked up.

Never thought my first time in New York would be like this- Buffy thought and started crying while walking around aimlessly. It reminded her of the time when she ran to LA after killing Angel, but this time it was worse for her cause she had no one to go back to.

She'd spent months in Scotland with the Gang, training the SIT's... working her ass off, getting hurt and risking her life on a daily basis, and in the end they all treated her like she was the bad guy. After a huge fight with Dawn, Willow, Xander and Giles, four people she considered her family, they asked her to leave.

They had Faith to lead them, along with Kennedy, who, as much as Buffy hated to admit it, was starting to be a really good was so hurt because they all teamed up against her when she got rid of magic, and she didn't wanna stay there anymore. It was time for her to move on, and time for Faith to be THE Slayer.

Faith.

That name caused a total mess inside of Buffy. She had no idea how exactly to feel about her, their relationship had always been complicated. It got even more complicated and freaky when they started having sex a few months back. For a while, Buffy stopped feeling so lonely... it was a nice change.

Buffy never thought it'd last, she knew Faith too well to think she was in for a steady relationship, but it still hurt her when one day Faith just left to track down another Slayer and never even said bye. It hurt even more when Faith returned and acted like Buffy was just a good roll in the sack and a way to pass the time.

Sex with Faith was amazing; it was something Buffy had never experienced before: gentle, rough, passionate, and really intimate. She felt like they connected, in more ways than one... Even though Faith preferred to take off after fucking her brains out, the last few times she actually stayed to cuddle.

A sentence with words 'cuddle' and 'Faith' sounded pretty much impossible in Buffy's head, but it happened and it made her think that they could have something more. And then Faith just ended it all without an explanation.

Tears were running freely down Buffy's cheeks as she walked around New York and thought about everything that had happened to her. Once again she wished she had just stayed dead...

"Excuse me, miss!"-someone yelled after her and Buffy wiped her tears, stopped and turned towards the person that addressed her.

"Yes?"-she asked when she saw a black, seemingly homeless and high guy. He was shaking and looking like he was gonna pass out any moment.

"Can you help me, please? I'm starving and I've got no money..."

Buffy thought he'd probably just buy drugs if she gave him money, and she barely had any... Still, she just couldn't ignore a person that needed her help, so she said:

"I just got to New York and I'll probably starve here too if I don't get a job as soon as possible... But, I'm hungry too, and you can join me for a meal if you want to."

The guy looked really surprised when she said that; it seemed that Buffy was the first who didn't ignore him and just walk away. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Just say yes."-Buffy said and felt a bit better. Maybe she wasn't the most fucked up person in the world. And, she managed to help someone without slaying a demon to save their life.

"Thank you, Miss. I'm Malcolm Ward."

"I'm Buffy."-Buffy smiled and shook Malcolm's hand.

"Ok, Buffy."-Malcolm smiled and they walked towards a cafe together. The food wasn't the best in the world, but it was cheap and edible and they both felt better.

"I'll pay you back as soon as I can, Buffy."-Malcolm said, looking really sincere, but Buffy really doubted that he'd keep the promise. She didn't think she'd ever see him again.

"It's cool, really. Look, I'm exhausted and gotta find a place to crash... See ya around."-Buffy said, paid the bill and left.

Malcolm watched her leave and he really hoped he'd see her again. There was something about her that just made him wanna be a better person. That tiny, young blonde girl looked like she'd been through hell and back and something in her eyes made her seem older and wiser... After a long time, Malcolm thought there may be some hope for the world and for his life.

Maybe it was time to get out of all the mess and get clean.

Buffy smiled when she exited the cafe. Helping Malcolm made her feel better about herself.

She walked faster, with more confidence and she smiled when she saw an advertisement glued on the wall: WAITRESS WANTED. CLUB 'NIGHT EXPRESS' CALL 555-8516.

Buffy took her cell phone out of her bag and dialed the number.

"Club Night Express."-a cheerful female voice answered and Buffy said:

"Hi. My name is Buffy Summers. I've just seen your advertisement and I'm interested in the job."

"That's great! We're open till 5 am so you can come right now if you want to."

It was crazy how lucky she got and Buffy answered enthusiastically: "Wow, thanks, I'll be there as soon as I can!"

She wrote down the address and called for a cab. Twenty minutes later she was in front of the club. She could hear loud music and when she entered she had to blink a little. There were red lights flashing around, the beat of music was deafening, and half naked girls danced for horny guys who stuffed their bras and panties with money.

"Hey, I'm Buffy, I called for a job and was given the address." It wasn't a dream job, but hey... Buffy had worked in Doublemeat Palace!

The waitress checked her out openly and said: "You're cute! I'll just let my boss know that you arrived. I'm Shayleen, by the way."

Buffy smiled, she liked the girl. There was a guy at the bar who looked like he was wearing an eye liner and Shayleen said: "This is my boyfriend Victor. Macawi will be here in a few minutes."

Macawi, what a funny name, Buffy thought, but when she saw the guy she didn't think anything about him was funny.

He wasn't a tall man, he was barely higher than herself, but she could tell that he was feared. He had long, black, greasy hair, long and narrow yellowish face and little green eyes that made him look snakey. Just like Shayleen, Macawi checked her out and said: "I'm Bodaway Macawi."

"Buffy Summers."

"Tell me something about yourself. Shay, pour Buffy a drink."

Buffy didn't feel like drinking, but she didn't wanna be rude so she accepted a shot of tequila.

"Thanks. Well, I'm twenty two years old and I'm from California, I just got to New York."

"You're here alone?"-Bodaway asked, his face not changing at all, but Buffy could have sworn she saw a little mean sparkle in his green eyes.

"Yes. I really need a job, and a place to stay... I could use an advice about motels or something."

"Non sense. Such a pretty girl can't stay in a dirty motel. I've got an apartment for you. It's just across the street and it's tiny, but comfortable. I'll just take a few hundreds off your pay."

"Wow, thanks!"-Buffy said, feeling really relieved. Maybe the guy wasn't a snakey person, maybe he just looked like one. There was something off about him, though, but Buffy didn't wanna dwell into it too much, he pretty much saved her ass.

"Come with me."-Bodaway said and led her to her new apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy liked her new apartment. Just as Bodaway had said, it was tiny but comfy. There was a little hallway, and on its right side was a small bathroom that only had a shower, a sink and a mirror on the wall. Down the hall there was a living room slash bedroom. There was a bed in the left corner of the room, a white closet that just didn't fit in the room because the rest of the furniture was brown,a little tv placed on top of a drawer, and a DVD player on top of the TV, and Buffy was happy because it meant she'd finally be able to watch her Veronica Mars DVDs.

In the middle of the room there was a table and two chairs and the floor was covered with a bloody red carpet. There was a picture of the Empire State Building on the wall and Buffy actually liked it. She couldn't wait to visit that legendary building.

A small kitchen was connected to the living room slash bedroom and it had a couple of cupboards, two drawers and a fridge, which contained a few beers, a bottle of milk, canned ham and a piece of cheese. Buffy made herself a sandwich when she found bread and then went to take a shower.

Hot water felt incredibly good, her body was sore and exhausted and she just couldn't wait to go to sleep.

But, when she lay in bed, wearing her yummy sushi pajamas, Buffy's brain just wouldn't shut off. She couldn't stop thinking about her friends and Faith. She replayed the last seven years of her life in her head and found it really sad and funny at the same time that her friends couldn't live without her and they brought her back to life when she was happy in heaven, but when she stopped acting the way they thought she should, they just told her to leave.

They could have just let me rest in peace.-Buffy thought and remembered the song that Spike sang to her when Sunnydale turned into a musical.

She started crying again and eventually fell asleep, exhausted.

On the other side of the world, in Scotland, Faith just got back to the castle with two new Slayers and she waited for the 'Buffy tingles' to run down her spine, but it never happened.

B. must be out. Damn.-Faith thought, disappointed. She had a major case of hornies going on and she just wanted to get in Buffy's bed and fuck her all day. It was five in the morning and she thought it was strange that Buffy wasn't there, but she thought she might have gone out for a patrol. She'd traveled along way and she was so tired, and decided to go to sleep. She'd have Buffy in the afternoon...

When Faith awoke ten hours later and still couldn't feel the tingles, she got worried. She went to the kitchen to have coffee and some cereal and pancakes, and saw Dawn there crying. It made her heart go crazy, she started thinking something had happened to Buffy. It would explain the absence of tingles.

As much as she did her best not to let Buffy get under her skin, despite the fact that she spent ages pretending Buffy was just a good lay, she just couldn't keep lying to herself. That little blondie was in her heart, she liked it or not. The world without Buffy wasn't the world Faith wanted to live in.

So, when she saw Dawn cry, she needed a moment to be able to speak. Her voice sounded huskier than usually when she asked:

"Dawn? Are you ok? Where's Buffy?"

"Buffy's gone..."-Dawn answered through sobs and Faith felt all her blood just freeze. "What do you mean 'gone?"

"She left the country. Think she went back to the States."

"What? Why?"-Faith asked, trying to sound casual when she just wanted to get in the next plane and find Buffy.

"Things haven't been good here for a while. Buffy kinda cut herself off again and everyone...me included, we got pissed off and there was a huge fight and we asked Buffy to leave."

"You did what?! Fuckin' hell, are you people all insane? Buffy was THE Slayer, you guys need her to survive! Guess you'll all be begging her to come back as soon as things get hairy, right? Remember the final fight in Sunnydale? You guys kicked her out of her own house and she came back to save your fuckin' ungrateful asses!"-Faith couldn't help yelling and Dawn got surprised. She'd never seen Faith so angry and defensive of Buffy before.

"You are THE Slayer,Faith. I love Buffy and I miss her already, but she's gone now and I don't think she'll come back to save anyone's ass this time."

"Oh, shut up! God!"-Faith got so pissed off she forgot she was hungry, and that happened seldom...if ever. She stormed off to the basement to take her frustrations out on a boxing sack.

While pounding on the training sack, Faith thought about the last time she'd seen Buffy and she was so angry at herself for acting like that.

FLASHBACK

Faith had just gotten back from Rome with Andrew, who volunteered to go with because 'Italy was such a romantic country, and the Italians invented pizza', and she had been cranky and really bad moody because Andrew had annoyed her half to death talking about fictional characters.

Buffy was training the baby Slayers, as Faith called them, and Faith watched her for a moment, but as soon as Buffy noticed her, she went to her room.

She wanted to have her wicked way with the blondie, but she started being afraid of her own feelings. She didn't want to get all sappy and have a proper relationship, she just wanted the sex part, but cuddling Buffy after sex was just nice... It was too nice and too scary for Faith, and she wasn't ready for that shit. It was easier to push Buffy away than let her in. She had let her in once before, when they first met, and she ended up so hurt she started working for the Big Bad.

Faith sat on the window sill and lit a cigarette, trying to calm down and stop thinking about throwing Buffy on the bed and fucking her senseless. Her Buffy-tingles got stronger and when she turned around she saw Buffy standing there, looking confused.

"Hey, Faith. Thought you'd at least say hi... How was in Rome?" Then she shut the door and got closer to Faith, leaning in for a kiss, but Faith moved away and Buffy felt even more confused, but hurt as well. She asked:

"What's up? I'm not getting a hello kiss?"

"Buffy... we've had some great fun together, but hey... I'm not your girlfriend. I'm very far from it, we WERE just fuck buddies."

"Fuck buddies? WERE? Faith... what are you saying?"

Buffy looked seriously hurt and Faith had to look away when she said: "Oh, c'mon, B... You know I don't do touchy feely shit, I'm a get some and get gone girl, remember?"

"S-so... I was just another notch on your bed post?!"-Buffy yelled, her voice angry and shaky at the same time. She started thinking that Faith actually cared about her and now she was acting all cold, like everything between them was just a game.

"What did you think, that I'd ask you to marry me and serenade you? By the way, Rome was cool... and Italian girls and guys are fuckin' hot in bed."

"Fuck you, Faith."

"You wish."-Faith said and Buffy angrily stormed off, unaware that Faith was lying. There was no one else, but Buffy didn't have to know that. It was easier.

END OF FLASHBACK

I was so wrong when I thought it would be easier. Buffy's gone, there's nothing easy about that.-Faith thought as she punched and kicked the training sack as hard as she could.


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy woke up at eleven in the morning, surprised because she slept so long. She couldn't remember the last time she woke up after eight. She deserved a good rest, and she didn't have to go to work till ten in the evening, so she had all day for sightseeing.

New York was Buffy's dream place and she couldn't wait to explore it thoroughly. She always hoped she'd get to do it with her best friends, but she started thinking the Slayer chronicles were quite right when they said a Slayer was meant to be alone.

She had a quick shower and breakfast and she headed out.

Sunnydale had been such a tiny place, New York seemed like a whole different world. Buffy was admiring everything and taking photos, feeling like a geek doing it, but it was mandatory. People were running around, in constant hurry, Buffy wondered if any of them had a normal family life or if it was all about work, just like in her case.

Vampires and demons came to mind and Buffy was surprised there wasn't a Hellmouth in New York, it was pretty much an 'Eat All You Can' buffet for them, with so many people just walking around like Happy Meals on legs, as Spike had said it a long time ago.

Buffy's feelings for Spike had always been complicated, but when he sacrificed himself to save the world, Buffy saved a little place in her heart just for him. A bigger part belonged to Angel, but she accepted she could never have a relationship with him, at least not a relationship she wanted so badly. Once she thought about her two vampire lovers, Buffy couldn't help thinking about Faith. She wondered if the brunette Slayer even noticed her absence.

She quickly chased the thought away; it was time to enjoy New York, and not to think about what could have been. She checked her cell phone, and was disappointed there were no messages or missed calls, and she decided to throw it away. It was time to start a new life, without thinking so much about the old one. It sucked anyway.

When she got rid of her phone, Buffy continued walking and snapping pictures. She stopped paying attention to people that kept running all around her and she focused of taking photos of the streets, buildings, everything that made New York so special. She bumped into someone and was just gonna apologize and carry on, but when she saw a person she bumped into, she stopped in her tracks and just stared, frozen.

The woman stared back at her, just as surprised and immobile.

Buffy couldn't believe her own eyes. The woman staring at her was obviously her twin, they were identical, yet so different. This woman was obviously rich; she wore expensive clothes and looked very confident, yet somehow cold. Buffy couldn't help asking:

"Are you a robot?"

She knew the question was retarded, but at that moment she just had no idea what to say. The resemblance just confused the hell out of her.

The woman looked at her like she thought she was insane and asked: "Excuse me? You are... how is this possible? Who the hell are you?"

"Buffy Summers. And, if you're not a robot, I think we should talk..."

"I'm most definitely not a robot! My name is Siobhan Martin, and for god's sake, I thought having one twin was bad enough, now it looks like I've got two twins!"

"I think it's easier for you to believe you've got one more twin that it is for me to find out I have two sisters I never heard about." Buffy thought about Dawn and started wondering if the monks made two more versions of herself.

"Buffy, I'm in a hurry now, but we NEED to talk. Meet me at this hotel at five o'clock."-Siobhan handed Buffy a card of a hotel called Dandridge.

"Sure... See ya there."-Buffy said, her mind still unable to wrap around the fact that she had two sisters she never heard about.

And she'd thought her life as a Slayer had been strange. She felt such an urge to call Willow or Giles to help her make sense out of it, but she knew she'd have to do it on her own... Maybe soon she won't have to be alone, there were two sisters she had to get to know...


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy got to the hotel at ten to five, she could hardly wait to see Siobhan and try to find out more about her other sister and their lives. She just had no idea what to tell them about herself; she didn't wanna lie, but she couldn't tell her about the vampires and demons. Was it possible that Siobhan and the other twin were also Slayers?

Buffy walked around the hotel lobby, impatient and feeling like her heart would jump out, and she jumped a little when she heard Siobhan's voice say: "Hey, Buffy."

"Hey..."-Buffy managed to smile and she let Siobhan lead her to a room she had a key for.

"Do you actually live here?"-Buffy asked, when she noticed there were some of Siobhan's stuff thrown on the couch.

"No, I come here sometimes when I wanna... relax."-Siobhan decided not to tell Buffy she comes there to have sex with her lover, Henry.

"Ok... So... God, my head is buzzing with questions and confusion and I have no idea where to start."-Buffy admitted and sat down on the couch.

"Tell me about it. Where have you been for the last twenty two years?"-Siobhan asked and poured Buffy a glass of expensive wine.

"I lived in Los Angeles until my parents divorced when I was fifteen, and then I moved to Sunnydale with my mom. I have a sixteen years old sister, Dawn."

"Sunnydale... rings a bell... hey, is that the town that mysteriously imploded months ago?"-Siobhan asked, frowning like she wasn't sure if she got it right.

"Yeah, that's it. I managed to get away with Dawn and a few friends. We moved to Scotland because a friend had a house there. I got to New York yesterday, I've always wanted to see this city. It's even more beautiful than I thought."

"So, you're here alone?"-Siobhan asked, and remembered how hard it was for her to come here on her own when she was just nineteen.

"Yeah. I was lucky, though, found a place and a job straight away. So, where's the other twin?"

"Bridget."-Siobhan said like saying the name left a disgusting taste in her mouth. "She's been a drug addict for a few years. I haven't talked to her since I moved to New York and got married. Think she's still in Wyoming, but I'm not sure."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."-Buffy said and sipped her wine.

"It's fine. I don't need her anyway. Spent my teen years looking after her and cleaning her messes and just had enough of it. Thought it was time to start living my own life. Andrew, my husband, was a huge help."

It looked like Buffy wasn't the only sister who had to act too responsible for her age. She knew exactly how Siobhan felt, it must have been like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders.

"What about your parents?"-Buffy asked.

"They died in a car accident when we were just ten years old. We had been really close then, Bridget and I. Are you close with your sister Dawn?"

Buffy gave her a sad smile and said: "I used to think so, but we've had a fall out... We're not exactly speaking at the moment."

"Looks like you and I have a few things in common..."-Siobhan said and wished Buffy had been the sister she'd grown up with. Maybe she wouldn't have caused the death of her son.

Siobhan thought about the time when she had a baby when she was just sixteen years old, with a loser called Dylan Morrison, who knocked her up and left. He showed up when Sean was three years old and he suddenly wanted to act like a father. She wasn't buying his crap, but Bridget trusted him and let him take Sean to a carnival. He died in a car accident on their way back home, and Siobhan couldn't forgive it to her sister.

That was when Bridget started using drugs; the guilt was too hard to bear. Siobhan didn't care, she thought Bridget deserved to feel guilty until the moment she finally overdosed herself.

"Yeah, looks like it. How come you wanted me to meet you here, not in your home?"

Siobhan looked away and said: "Andrew doesn't know about Bridget and I didn't wanna confuse him. I wanted to see if you were ok, or a loony who thought I was a robot. I know I'm not the warmest person ever, but I'm not a tin woman."

Buffy smiled and felt even more silly for asking such a question. "Sorry about that. I guess my brain just froze when I saw you."

"You weren't the only one. Is there anything else I should know about you, Buffy?"

There are many things you should know, but I can't tell you. You'd probably send me to the closest loony bin.-Buffy thought and said:

"Not much. I'm boring... I got a job yesterday at this club Night Express, and live in a little apartment right across the street."

"Night Express? Seriously?"-Siobhan looked surprised and Buffy didn't understand why.

"Yeah... Why is that so weird?"

"Well... it's a kinda shady place. A kind of a place Bridget would go to if she was here."

"I guess I have something in common with both of you then."-Buffy tried to joke, but Siobhan didn't think it was funny.

"Hope not, Buffy. I really hope you're more like me. Bridget is bad news. I'm the good twin."

Buffy wished she could meet Bridget too, to hear her side of the story. Siobhan seemed really classy and perfect, but also really cold. There was a time when Buffy had thought she'd lost her ability to love, until the spirit of the First Slayer convinced her otherwise. She wondered if Siobhan had really lost her ability to love.

"Do you think you could ever forgive Bridget, for messing things up?"-Buffy asked, wondering if she'd ever sort things out with Dawn and her friends.

Siobhan thought for a moment, gripped her glass of wine with both hands, and she said: "I don't know. I don't think so."

"What did she do to you?"

"I... I don't wanna talk about it now. We've just met, we should be doing each other's hair or something."-Siobhan forced a smile, but it was obvious it wasn't sincere.

"You're right... Sorry I'm being nosy."-Buffy apologized and smiled.

Siobhan got closer to her and said: "It's ok. Maybe someday we'll be able to share our stories without sugar coating them. Do you have a cell phone?"

"No, actually, I had thrown it away just before you and I bumped into each other."

"It's fine, I've got two of them, I'll borrow you mine."-Siobhan took a card out of a pink cell phone and handed the phone to Buffy. "You'll just have to get a sim card. My number is inside, so just give me a call."

"Thanks, Siobhan."

"You can call me Shiv."

"Okay... Shiv. Sometimes friends called me Buff, or just B."-Buffy said and thought of Faith. Siobhan noticed Buffy's face looked a bit sadder when she mentioned the latter nick name and she wondered why.

"Buffy is a weird name even if it's not shortened."-Siobhan said and Buffy frowned a little and said:

"Oh, and Siobhan isn't?"

Siobhan gave her the first sincere smile and said: "Yup, I guess we are sisters."


	5. Chapter 5

It was twenty minutes to ten when Buffy showed up at her new work place. "Welcome, Buffy!"-said Shayleen and smiled to her.

"Hey! This place is packed already!"-Buffy said and looked around; there were almost naked ladies dancing, men whistling and stuffing their bras and tiny shorts with dollar bills.

"Yeah, it's packed every night. Macawi's good at attracting people here."-Shayleen said and pointed her head towards the corner of the room. Buffy looked and saw two girls snorting a line.

"Geez... is Macawi a drug dealer?"-Buffy whispered, looking alarmed. She definitely didn't want to work for a bad guy. She'd fought too hard, died twice, to be on the side of good.

"The less you know about him, the better, trust me. He pays good money, though."

"Great. Give me a shot of tequila, please."-Buffy said, hoping it would help her calm down.

She downed it and got behind the bar to start her shift.

"Buffy. Good that you're ready."-Bodaway said and gave her a creepy crooked smile. Buffy forced herself to smile back, but she just kept thinking that she had to find out more about that guy. 'Maybe he's a demon... Maybe I'll be allowed to slay him.', Buffy thought and warned herself that there were people that were even worse than demons. Angel was the most amazing, selfless person, and he was a vampire. On the other side, Hitler was quite human and he caused more deaths than Angelus had, probably.

"Always."-Buffy said, trying her best to look innocent and friendly, but in fact, she was so ready to kick his ass if she thought it was necessary.

Siobhan got home, ignored her husband, who was doing something on his laptop, and went to her room to use her own laptop. There was loud, obnoxious pop music blasting from Juliet's room. Juliet was Andrew's daughter, a sixteen year old brat from his first marriage who hated Siobhan's guts. The feeling was mutual.

She sat on the bed, opened Google and wrote: Buffy Summers, Sunnydale, California.

The only thing she could dig about Buffy using Google was that she graduated from Sunnydale High School in 1999, and was born on January 19 1981. "What am I doing?"-Siobhan asked herself out loud and deleted the entry. For a moment she thought Bridget was desperate enough to pretend to be someone else, but Buffy seemed real enough. Besides, Bridget usually wore her heart on her sleeve, she was never a good actress.

Siobhan learned to build a wall around herself, and to keep it strong and unbreakable, but underneath the icy facade, she was an emotional woman who just wanted to be close to someone the way she used to be close to her twin sister.

She married Andrew cause he was well off and he treated her like a princess, but after some time she got seriously bored with just being his wife. He spent more time at his office than with her and she needed someone to want her, to need her and fall for her...so she picked Henry, whose wife was supposedly her best friend.

Siobhan liked Gemma, but she liked herself more, and Henry could never keep his eyes off of her. Less than a year after she married Andrew, she started cheating on him with Henry and she loved the thrill of it. She kept doing it under Andrew and Gemma's noses and it turned her on even more that they were so close and they just didn't see it.

And Henry... he was so in love with her he would have killed for her if she'd just asked. He was unbelievably sweet and cute and very good in bed, which was also a plus. She hadn't planned to fall for him, but after a while she kept wishing she'd married Henry instead of her boring businessman husband.

Meeting Buffy made her think of Bridget and Siobhan couldn't help going down the memory lane... She went through her drawer and found a necklace that kept going back and forth from Bridget to her for every birthday. She looked at it, and gently caressed a blue stone inside a silver pendant. She remembered the time they bought it; they couldn't afford two of them so they decided to share it.

Bridget had mailed it to her the previous year and she started thinking she should send it back. She couldn't forgive Bridget, but she had a right to know that they had one more sister.

"Shiv, are you here?"-Andrew called out to her and she quickly hid the necklace to her jewelry box and yelled: "Yes, I'm in the bedroom!"

Andrew walked in there in a hurry and said in his perfect English accent that started really annoying her: "I have to head back to the office, I should be back at seven. We have to attend a business dinner at eight, get ready."

Siobhan hated those dinners, she got tired of being just shown off to his business partners, and even more tired of pretending their marriage was absolutely perfect, when in fact they barely talked, and they had sex once in two months…

"Can't you take Olivia? I really don't feel like going tonight."-Siobhan said and lay down on the bed.

"Olivia is my partner, not my wife. Come on, Shiv, it's not like you have anything to do tonight, I'vechecked your little orange book."

Siobhan rolled her eyes and cursed her little planner. She wrote everything in there, and it drove her mad that Andrew took liberty of reading it.

"What about Juliet? Do you really wanna leave her here alone? Remember she made a right mess the last time she stayed alone at home. She's worse than Kevin from 'Home Alone', and she's twice as old!"-Siobhan really disliked Andrew's teenage daughter, but she thought she might be a good excuse to stay at home.

The only time she actually liked going to boring business dinners was when she knew that Henry and Gemma would be there. Henry made time go quicker...

"I've talked to Juliet, she's going to her mother's for a few days. Catherine swears she hasn't been drinking lately, so I'll give her a chance. If she gets wasted again, she can forget Juliet."

Catherine, Andrew's bitch ex wife, was one more person Siobhan just couldn't stand. Whenever they saw each other, they were at each other's throats, throwing snarky comments all over the place. She just wished that Catherine would take the brat and fuck off from her life.

"Ok, ok, I'm going. But, you so owe me a weekend at the Hamptons, honey."

"You can go to the Hamptons whenever you want to."-Andrew said, coldly.

When he married her, he thought she was the most perfect woman in the world. She had it all; the looks and the brains. They talked about everything, even business, and she often advised him on what to do. Still, there were subjects she just refused to talk about.

He'd found a photo of a little blonde boy in her jewelry box a few months before, and when he asked her who he was, she just started kissing him to avoid having to answer. She always found a way to ignore the question; she often said past should stay in the past.

As time passed, Siobhan kept getting colder and more distant. He started suspecting that she had an affair, but she spent a lot of time at home, reading or writing short stories for children, unless she went to the gym or shopping with Gemma. She was a puzzle and as much as he wished he could connect to her again, she just kept slipping away and he got tired of trying to fix their relationship. It was easier just to play her game; take her out and pretend it was all roses and sunshine…

Buffy's shift started and she started mixing drinks for horny men, and occassional woman who came in the bar to watch the dancers and get drunk, or high. She didn't understand how the police hadn't already closed the bar, but then she thought that Macawi probably had wicked connections. She decided to stay on alert, she definitely didn't want to end up in jail just because she worked for a suspicious guy like Macawi.

Shay's shift had just ended, but she decided to stay with Buffy on her first night. The other waitress who helped out, Mary, had just started just days ago and she also needed some help. When Buffy looked at Mary she almost got a heart attack; she looked so much like Tara, it was insane. New York seemed to be full of doppelgangers.

Macawi was there, observing everything like a hawk, surrounded by his partners in crime. Buffy didn't know their names and she preferred it that way. The less she communicated with Macawi and those men, the better.

"Buffy, may I have a word?"-asked Bodaway and Buffy nodded and politely said: "Of course, boss."

"One of the dancers called in sick. I want you to replace her."

Buffy stared at him in shock and said: "N-no, I'm sorry, I can't dance."

She looked at Shayleen, hoping she'd jump in and help, but she just made an apologetic face. It was obvious that Bodaway usually got what he wanted and he wasn't used to hearing someone say no. His snakey face remained the same, but Buffy once again noticed the little evil gleam in his eyes and she trembled a little. She wasn't afraid of him, but there was a serious creep factor.

"I'm sure you can. You move gracefully, I saw you earlier when you tripped, you still managed to keep a tray in your hand without spilling anything. I'm not sure how you did it, but I was impressed. And, Buffy… it's not easy to impress me. Come with me, I'll give you an outfit."

She didn't wanna fight with him on her first night, she really needed a place to stay and the money, so she just said: "Ok, I'll try."

"Good girl."-Bodaway said and placed his hand just above her butt, leading her to the changing room. Buffy barely stopped herself from punching him in the face when his hand slid downwards.

I need this job, I need it. Come on, Buffy, pull yourself together, don't hit him…yet.-Buffy kept saying to herself, once again wishing that he was a vampire.

He gave her a tiny red skirt and a black shirt with six buttons on it, and said: "Take off your clothes. I need to see if your underwear is ok. If I don't like it, I'll give you a new one."

"What? What does my underwear have to… Oh. Oh my god… you want me to strip?"-it finally dawned on her and her heart started going wild. It wasn't in her job description! Then again, she never signed any contract.

"Yes. Don't worry, you keep all the money the men put in your panties and bras."-Bodaway said and grinned when he saw the shocked expression on Buffy's face.

"B-but…"

"Buffy. I don't have all night. The more time it takes you to get ready, the less you'll get paid. Strip."

Buffy just couldn't believe it was happening to her. She kept thinking: Come on, Buffy, wake up. Wake up, just fuckin' wake up!

It wasn't happening and she just pulled her t-shirt over her head and Bodaway nodded approvingly when he saw her black bra. "I like it."-he said and urged her to take off her pants.

Buffy felt her cheeks burn and she swallowed hard before pulling down her pants. She wore a matching black thong that barely covered anything.

"Perfect."-Bodaway said, shamelessly observing her body, and looking pretty impressed. "Your body is perfect for this job, Buffy. You've got some impressive abs there. Men are gonna go wild when they see you."

"They'renot allowed to touch me, right?"-she asked, quite worried about it. She didn't want strangers to feel her up.

"Not unless you want them to. If someone bothers you too much, just wave to me or Daniel…"-he showed her a tall Mexican guy and added: "No one's ever dared to do something wrong here yet, though. You have nothing to worry about. Just dance."

Just dance.-Buffy thought while getting dressed. It sounded so easy. And she had a feeling it would be one of the hardest things she ever had to do.

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.-Buffy remembered the words she'd said to Dawn right before she jumped off of the tower made by crazy people and died. It was like the world existed to make her do the hardest things…


	6. Chapter 6

Faith was an angry Slayer. Not even throwing the training sack off its hinges helped, so she decided to find the people responsible for Buffy's departure. She burst into Willow's office, scaring the beejezus out of the red head.

"Faith, is there a problem?"-Willow asked, trying to sound completely calm.

"Uh, let me think… BUFFY IS GONE! For fuck's sake, people, can you be any more stupid and ungrateful?! Find her! If you think you can do this without your precious magic and without Buffy you're fuckin' wrong!"-Faith yelled at a very startled and confused Willow.

"I thought you might like to take the lead. I don't think Buffy wants to be found right now, I think we all need some time."-Willow said, trying to sound reasonable.

"You need some time for what? To get your stupid asses killed? To throw the baby Slayers into battles they probably won't survive?! And you expect me to keep looking for more new Slayers just to watch them die?! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU PEOPLE THINKING?! You like it or not, we NEED Buffy!"

Willow never thought she'd hear Faith defend Buffy like that, it was a really angry and unexpected outburst. She didn't really know what to say to Faith cause she didn't really understand her reaction. She started wondering if there was any other reason for Faith to lose it like that. There was always some chemistry between the Chosen Two, and Willow wondered if they finally acted on it.

"Look, Faith… Everybody's been edgy and sad cause Buffy left, but we can't just decide it's time to crawl up and die cause she's not here. We'll be fine."

"I thought you were her best friend. You're just a selfish little brat who flipped because you can't use magic for every little thing you need. Fuck you, Red, I'm gonna have to find Buffy on my own if you don't wanna help me."-Faith said coldly and left the room, wishing she could just beat on someone or something until they told her where Buffy was.

Willow rubbed her temples and continued reading old dusty books, trying to find any information about bringing magic back. Faith was right about one thing, she did need magic and wasn't happy because she couldn't use it. Faith was obviously driven with desire to find Buffy and Willow really needed to find magic.

Buffy stopped believing there was any magic in the world left while she stood behind the curtains, trying to gather courage to get on the stage. Bodaway stood behind her and said:

"Buffy, stop stalling and get on the fuckin' stage."

Buffy swallowed hard, took a few deep breaths and got on the stage. Loud music was blasting from the speakers and she closed her eyes and started moving in the rhythm along with three other girls. She was a good dancer, a very energetic one that could be all over the place thanks to her Slayer speed and strenght.

Every eye in theroom was on her, people were mesmerized by her moves… When she took off her shirt, everybody started throwing money at her feet. Buffy couldn't believe it was happening. She tried so hard to concentrate on dancing instead of her audience, but it was hard because people kept yelling things like: "Lose the skirt, blondie!" or "Show us that ass!"

Buffy looked at Bodaway, who nodded in approval. He was quite pleased, Buffy was like a gold mine. She gulped loudly when she stayed just in her bra and a thong, and the crowd went wild. Even her fellow dancers looked at her sexy, muscular and strong body as she moved as gracefully as the lithe snake.

She couldn't believe how much money was around her feet, and when she leaned over a few guys and women stuffed her bra and her thong with it. She felt kind of light headed and couldn't really believe it was happening, but she kind of wanted to keep the audience interested so she made a somersault at the end of her dance.

People couldn't believe it, she made it look so easy and they stared cheering like crazy. Even Bodaway was grinning, and that guy was serious ninety nine percent of the time.

"Thanks, guys!"-Buffy said, took all of the money she earned and went to the back stage. Bodaway followed her there and said:

"You're a natural! I want you on stage every night. Forget waitressing, dancing is your calling! Hey, look at the queue, everybody wants a piece of you. Go back there and pick one person for a private dance."

Buffy's head was spinning. "A… a private dance?"

"Yes. You choose if you wanna get completely naked or not, and if you want sex. It would be perfect if you did it… Come on, think about it."-Bodaway whispered in her ear and gently ran his fingers over her cheek. She barely managed to keep a straight face, she didn't want him to touch her.

"No. I can dance, but I'm not sleeping with anyone. And I won't let anyone grope me or make me do stuff. You can forget about it."-Buffy was determined and Bodaway started liking her. She had spirit… He just nodded and Buffy grabbed a shirt and wore it over her bra. Bodaway said:

"No pants or skirts. Go there in that sexy thong. Accept a drink, and smile and flirt as much as you can. You don't have to sleep with anyone, but do your best to drive them crazy."

He slapped her ass and winked when she walked away.

Buffy looked at the crowd standing before her and she started thinking she'd get a heart attack. It was one thing to dance for many people, but a private dance was too… well, private. She wasn't ready for that, and she didn't know if she'd ever be.

Siobhan looked perfect when she wore a gorgeous red dress with a bow on her right breast. She lifted her hair up in a bun and her lips were a bright red color. Andrew was quite handsome in an Armani suit and a red tie, Siobhan had to admit, but at that point she was way more interested in his bank account than anything else.

Andrew had reserved a table at Daniel's and they sat down, waiting for Andrew's potential business partners. They ordered a very expensive bottle of champagne, sipped it and ignored each other until the people they waited for arrived.

Siobhan smiled when she saw a cute, young guy and an old woman who looked like she could easily be his grandma. She happily concluded that they weren't a couple and she politely shook their hands and introduced herself.

"Tyler Barrett."-said the cute guy, and Siobhan looked straight into his eyes and held his hand a moment longer than it was appropriate, happy when he blushed slightly, and even happier because Andrew never noticed anything.

"Anne Morrison."-said the old woman, but Siobhan barely even looked at her. Tyler was way more interesting.

Maybe that dinner wouldn't suck that much after all…

Buffy had no idea who to pick. She stared at the crowd, wishing she could just disappear. There were men and women waving at her with money in their hands, and Buffy decided it was safer to pick a woman for her first private dance. Men were just too wild, drunk and unpredictable, and she didn't wanna break any noses on her first day.

She walked to a really sexy brunette who reminded her of Faith a little, she also wore leather pants and a black t-shirt, and she even had tattoo on her arm, but it was a red rose surrounded with thorns.

"Hi…"-Buffy said and smiled, not knowing what she should say or do.

"Hey, cutie. So glad you picked me."-the girl said and caught Buffy's hand, and they walked towards the private room, leaving disappointed men behind.

There was a bed in the private room, a fridge, a desk in the corner and a chair. The lights were dim and slow music was playing. Buffy was so thankful there was a fridge and she grabbed a bottle of water. Her mouth was so dry and she started seriously thinking she'd get a heart attack.

"I'm Buffy. I've never done this before, I have no idea what to do and to be honest, I'm terrified."

"I'm Nicki. And, Buffy, you were amazing on stage, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just relax…"-the girl said and lay on the bed, leaning her head on her hand, waiting for Buffy to start dancing. She'd checked the rules before she got in the room with Buffy and she started being sorry she wasn't allowed to touch her unless the dancer herself let her.

"Yeah, I'll do my best…"-Buffy said and pulled the chair to the middle of the room, to use it to lean on it and maybe even sit on it while dancing. She started dancing, and she noticed the change on Nicki's face… she kept biting her lower lip and watching Buffy so intently, it made Buffy blush a little. Faith had been the only woman that had seen her naked and got so turned on by her body. It seemed that Nicki liked what she was seeing a lot.

Buffy danced her way to the bed and leaned on it, getting really close to Nicki, who did her best not to reach out and pull her down on the bed. She pulled her shirt off and threw it to Nicki, who pressed it on her face, breathing in the scent.

Nicki's green eyes were filled with lust and desire, and Buffy gave her a little smile.

"Buffy, come to me…"-Nicki said, her voice a bit husky. She pulled her own shirt off, to make Buffy feel less naked and awkward. It was her first private dance after all. Buffy bit her own lip lightly and sat on Nicki's lap, gently moving her hands over Nicki's face, neck and shoulders, as she moved her hips in the rhythm of the music.

Nicki put a hundred dollar bill in Buffy's bra and asked: "Am I allowed to touch you?"

"No."-Buffy said and pushed Nicki down on the bed, holding her hands above her head and rubbing her own body against Nicki's.

"You're so sexy… and strong."-Nicki said, and Buffy lightened the grasp a little, not wanting to bruise the girl accidentally.

Buffy's lips were so close to Nicki's and the girl tried to lift her head to get a kiss, but Buffy moved away, let go of Nicki's hands and walked to the other side of the room…

"And you're such a tease…"-Nicki whispered and bit her own lip again, feeling so horny and frustrated cause she wasn't allowed to feel that sexy body.

Buffy sipped a bit more water and let some run down her chin and breasts. She still couldn't believe she was doing it, and it was so unbelievable that she actually liked doing it for this girl who looked so turned on and actually very sexy.

Nicki opened the fridge and grabbed a cold beer. Before she opened the bottle, she rubbed it against her neck and chest, and Buffy liked what she was seeing. She got closer to Nicki again, and let her move the cold bottle over her body. She could feel Nicki's warm breath on her body, and she moved away again. Nicki groaned and said:

"Come on, babe, let me touch you. I'll pay as much as you want."

Buffy couldn't help smiling; she was flattered that this girl would give her a lot of money just for some innocent touching. She sat on the chair, and motioned to Nicki to come to her. Nicki readily jumped and sat on Buffy's lap, touching her face, neck, arms… She wanted to touch every little part of her body, but she wasn't sure if it was allowed, so she did her best not to just rip her bra and thong off and fuck her right there.

Bodaway watched Buffy and Nicki on tv in his office, and he loved what he was seeing. Buffy was so amazing, he wanted to keep her at any cost. And that girl she was with was obviously willing to pay. He saw her put another hundred dollar bill in Buffy's bra and smiled when Buffy nodded to her… The next moment, the girl pulled Buffy off of the chair and they started dancing together; Bodaway thought it looked more like mating than dancing, and it was incredibly sexy.

When the bell rang, Buffy said: "Time's up…"

"Are you up for a drink after your shift?"-Nicki asked, and Buffy answered:

"Only if you'll let me pay."

"If you insist."

"I do… and, Nicki… why do you come here? I mean, you could have any girl you want, not someone like me."-Buffy asked, sincerely curious, because she couldn't understand why people chose this kind of fun over something real.

"I don't want someone like you, I want YOU. It's the first time I've done something like this. I've only been here once before, with a few friends, and it was last night. I saw you and thought I might come again, to see you, maybe talk to you if you're not busy. And then you showed up on stage and left me speechless. I couldn't believe you picked me, but I'm glad you did."

"I'm glad I did too."-Buffy said, put her shirt back on and left the room. She wanted to count the money she got and take a shower, but Bodaway got to her and said: "Congratulations, you're a hit. Since it's your first night, you can go home now. Rest good, tomorrow night you'll have more costumers, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks."-Buffy said and got dressed. She gathered all the money and counted two thousand dollars. She couldn't believe her own eyes. It was insane.

Nicki saw Buffy get out of the club and she ran after her and said: "You're not bailing on me, are you?"

"I was just gonna go shower and come look for you. I live across the street."

"Can I come with?"

"Sure."-Buffy said, wondering why she even let that girl so close. Was it cause she was so much like Faith, only with green eyes? Was it cause she was so unbelievably lonely? Buffy couldn't tell, but for once she decided not to think so much… she just wanted to try to live.


	7. Chapter 7

Siobhan pretended to be a stupid blonde, but in fact she listened to the business conversation pretty carefully, and at the same time flirted with Tyler, who seemed to be completely under her thrall. She didn't know if Andrew really wasn't seeing the way she kept flirting, or if he was just pretending to be really dumb.

When Andrew excused himself to go to the bathroom, Siobhan handed her phone number to Tyler. While listening to their conversation, she realized she might need his help in the future. Mrs. Morrison was busy reading the wine menu she didn't even notice the little exchange.

"Andrew, honey, I think we should go home. I'm exhausted, and not feeling so well…"-Siobhan said, and she was actually telling the truth. Suddenly she started feeling dizzy and she wondered if it was because of wine.

Andrew knew that Siobhan could be a good actress when she needed to be, but this time she really looked like she wasn't feeling well, she was a bit pale.

"Yes, sweetheart, think it's time to leave…"-Andrew said and gave a hand to Siobhan to help her get up like a proper gentleman and he politely thanked and said goodbye to his partners.

Buffy gave a beer to Nicki when they got to her apartment and let her hang at her bedroom slash living room while she showered. She wore a long grey and white checked shirt she had stolen from Faith and a pair of shorts, trying to make herself comfortable, not sexy. The shirt still had Faith's scent on it and Buffy wished she was there instead of a girl who slightly resembled her.

Nicki openly checked her out when she got out of the bathroom, and Buffy started wishing she'd put on a bra, but it was two in the morning and she just thought about getting in bed and sleeping. Nicki seemed to have some other activities in mind, cause she sat next to Buffy, put her arm around Buffy's waist and whispered:

"Think it's time to return the favor and strip for you…"

"Nicki, you don't have to… We can just hang out…"-Buffy said, unsure if she wanted anything more than hanging out. Faith was the only woman she'd ever wanted and being with another woman scared her.

"You're so tense… Just relax…"-Nicki said and slowly massaged Buffy's neck and shoulders, happy when Buffy moaned quietly.

"I'll fall asleep if you keep massaging me…"-Buffy mumbled and moaned when Nicki pressed harder into her sore muscles.

"Trust me, you won't…"-Nicki whispered in her ear and moved her hands under Buffy's shirt, happy cause the sexy dancer wasn't wearing a bra.

She cupped Buffy's breasts and squeezed lightly, while licking her neck. "I don't usually do this on the first date, but… can't say it was an oldfashioned date anyway…."-Buffy said, turned over to face Nicki and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Just like Faith, Nicki had full lips, which kissed her almost as good as Faith's. She wonder if Faith was kissing someone at that moment, and Buffy thought she'd lose her mind if she kept imagining Faith while she was kissing another woman, so she did her best to shut off her brain and kissed Nicki harder as the girl gently pulled her nipples and started unbuttoning her shirt. Faith's shirt. Dammit, Buffy!

"Nicki, wait…"-Buffy said, deciding it was better to tell the truth about Faith and her messed up feelings before anything happened.

"What's up, babe? Oh… is it your first time?"-Nicki asked when she noticed a little embarrassed look on Buffy's face.

"No… it's not my first time, but I've only been with one woman… and she ended it just recently. It's all still kinda fresh and I don't know if I can… I'm so sorry."

Nicki kissed her lips gently and said: "I understand… I'm not proposing you, though, just wanna have some fun. That girl who dumped you had no idea what she had. I can leave if you want me to and come back when you're ready."

Buffy was actually very touched to hear that Nicki would wait until she was ready, she started thinking the girl didn't just wanna fuck her and disappear, like Faith kept doing and driving her crazy, so she just kissed Nicki hard again and let her take off her shirt.

Siobhan locked herself in the bathroom as soon as she got home. She told Andrew she just wanted a hot bath, which was also true, but she wanted to do a few other things. The first was a pregnancy test, because she was feeling weird for a few days, and the second was writing a letter to Bridget. And she had to seriously think about what to do to get Andrew's money and fuck off from that boring life with Henry, or maybe someone else.

She started running a bath and peed on the test as she waited the bath to fill with water and bubbles. Then she got in and stared at the test like it might explode.

"Oh, shit."-she said when the damn thing turned pink.

Henry was the first one she thought about when she realized she was pregnant and she kept wishing they weren't married to wrong people and they could just leave and raise the baby together. But, to raise the baby they needed money, and lots of it, because Henry wasn't very successful at writing, and Siobhan had no job and she totally relied on Andrew's money.

She had to think really hard, but first she needed to write a letter to her enstranged twin sister.

'Dear Bridget ' "No, I can't write 'Dear', it's not like we're close. Something more informal will do."-Siobhan thought out loud as she tried to write a letter into her little orange book.

The water was so hot and it was making her sleepy, but it also made her think about Bridget. It reminded her how her sister would sometimes come home drunk and Siobhan would make her a hot bath to relax and feel better.

Finally she decided to write simply

'Hey, Bridget.

I know it's been a while since we last talked, and you probably didn't think you'd ever hear from me again. To be quite honest, I wasn't gonna get in touch at all, but something happened and made me change my mind.

It turns out our dear parents were even more fertile than we thought cause we were not twins, but triplets.

I've run into Buffy on the street, she just moved to New York after living in Sunnydale, the town that imploded earlier this year.

Thought you should know that.

After talking to Buffy, I kinda wished she had been the one living with me, but hey I guess everything happens for a reason.

If Sean hadn't died, I wouldn't be married to Andrew and wouldn't be living like a queen. After thinking hard about everything, I've come to a conclusion: it was an accident. I know you would have gladly died to save Sean, and I forgive you.

I wish you would come to New York to talk and hang out a little, with me and Buffy. I guess we should all get to know each other.

Hope you've stopped doing drugs and you're happier now.

I miss you.

Shiv.'

While writing about Sean and forgiveness, Siobhan's jaw clentched and her eyes burned with tears. She was far from forgiving Bridget, she was still mad at her, but she knew that Bridget was dying to hear those words and she knew she'd come as soon as she could.

Andrew was already asleep when she got to their bedroom, and Siobhan was glad he was because she really wasn't in the mood to talk to him or anything. She just placed the letter in an envelope, put a necklace inside too and hid it in the drawer, deciding to send it the first thing in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

It was already ten o'clock in the morning when Buffy woke up. She stretched in bed and opened her eyes when she realized Nicki had left.

Why am I even surprised? Everyone always leaves.-Buffy thought, but then she noticed a note on the pillow that said:

'Don't worry, I haven't bailed on you, just needed to go home and get ready for work. I'm a gym teacher at school. I know, hard to imagine me as a teacher, but hey if i wasn't a gym teacher, it would have been hard to keep up with you last night. See ya later, sexy... Nicki.'

Buffy smiled and jumped a little when her new phone rang. She almost forgot she had it. It was Siobhan calling, of course, she was the only one that had the number.

"Hi, Buffy. I'm in your part of town, do you wanna go for coffee?"

Still feeling a bit sleepy, Buffy said: "I'd like to. My apartment is right across the street from the Night Express. There's number two four eight on the door."

"Great. See you in a bit."-Siobhan said and hanged up. She told her driver, Solomon, to stop the car and told him she'd call him later.

Buffy opened the door before she even managed to knock, and Siobhan was a bit surprised when she saw her sister was wearing just a long checked shirt and panties. Her hair was still a bit messy and Buffy apologized:

"Come in, and please excuse me for a few minutes, I've over slept today and have to get ready."

"It's ok. I have time. Andrew's at work anyway."-Siobhan said and sat down at the table. There were a few photos on the table and Siobhan wondered who the people were. She assumed the young girl was Buffy's sister, Dawn, but there were photos of a red haired woman, an older guy with glasses, a cute guy with big brown eyes and a nice smile.

Siobhan read the writing on the back of the photo, it said: Willow, Xander and Giles, Sunnydale 2002.

There was another photo, of a very pretty brunette girl with wavy hair, full lips and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a tight black tank top and black letter pants. She read the message on the back of the photo: 'B, thought you might wanna have a photo to look at while you're feeling horny, hehe. Faith.'

Sooo, Buffy was gay? Interesting…-Siobhan thought, and, feeling curious, she walked around the room, hoping to find some more photos. There were none, but she read Nicki's note and thought:

Explains the messy hair and sleeping late. Sis's not waisting her time…

She sat down at the table when she heard Buffy open the bathroom door.

Buffy looked at Siobhan and blushed a little when she saw Faith's photo in her sister's hand, and a curious look on her face.

"So, this Faith girl calls you B. I wondered about the nick name as soon as you said it because you looked a bit sad. No need to blush, I don't care who you sleep with…"

"Faith's… complicated. She… I can't really talk about her just yet…"-Buffy said, took the photos and put them in her purse.

"It's ok. I don't expect you to tell me your deepest secrets just yet. I have a few as well."-Siobhan said and gave Buffy a little naughty smile.

"Don't we all?"-Buffy said, thinking her secret was a bit harder to explain than most secrets people had. How do you tell a person you're a Vampire Slayer without making them think you're insane? Especially if you just met your sister.

Faith was still really pissed off because of the way everyone treated Buffy, she sat outside the Slayer Central in Scotland and smoked a cigarette, thinking about what she should do. She even thought about flying to the States to try to find Buffy, but the problem was she had no idea where to look.

Sunnydale was a big crater and she didn't know much about the rest of Buffy's family. She figured Buffy wouldn't be able to quit Slaying completely and she decided to keep open eyes and ears. She took out her cell phone and dialled Robin Wood's number. She felt silly calling him, but he was the only Gang member that was currently in the States, and she hoped maybe he could help her find Buffy.

"Hey, it's Faith."

"Hey, Faith… It's been a while…"-Robin said, wondering what she was calling about. It probably wasn't about a booty call, but a man can hope, right?

"Yeah, I know… Been away, just returned to Scotland and found out that Buffy went back to the States. Figured you could help me find her."

Robin was sincerely surprised when he heard Faith say that and he asked: "Why did she go back to the States? Is the world in trouble?"

"Yeah, it is. It's getting too full of selfish, retarded people."-Faith said sarcastically and blew smoke rings into the air.

"Splainy?"-Robin was confused. Faith had to chuckle cause he sounded dangerously like Buffy.

"The Gang asked Buffy to leave, they had a fall out and they're too stupid to understand that they can't do this without her. I need to find her."

"Whoa. Never saw it coming. I know Buffy sometimes had her own methods , but she always did everything to save everyone. If I hear anything, I'll call you. I'm in Cleveland, but the Hellmouth here's been quiet lately and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I have to go to New York for a few days, but I'll have my cell phone if you need anything."

"New York… Lucky! Have fun, and I hope you'll call me soon with info."

"Hope so too. Buffy's not used to working alone and I'm afraid she could get hurt."

"Dude, she's the most capable Slayer in History. B. can take care of herself."-Faith said and hoped she was right. It was true, Buffy was never really alone. Except when she moved to LA for a few months, but everyone was still there when she got back.

Robin had to go to sleep, so Faith hanged up, lit another cigarette and thought about Buffy, who seemed to be the only thing on her mind ever since she got back to Scotland. Her absence wasn't easy to handle.

"Faith?"-Kennedy approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder when Faith remained silent.

"Ken, I need to be alone."-Faith said, inhaling cigarette smoke deeply.

"No, you need a friend. I know how you feel about Buffy, I'm not blind. There was something between you two, wasn't it?"-Kennedy decided to be straight forward, and she knew she was right when Faith looked at her, surprised.

"I messed it up, I'm good at that. And now I don't know if I'll ever see her again."-Faith clenched her jaw, trying to stop feeling so damn sad.

Kennedy sat next to Faith and said: "I'm sure you will. Everything will get sorted out. Buffy is needed here and everybody knows that. We liked to tease her and call her General Buffy, but I guess we all needed her to be one. The SIT's are nervous without her and keep getting cheekier. Willow keeps saying it'll all be great, but I'm not so sure about it."

"General Buffy. You know, she's quite different when we're alone. Not so bossy, more vulnerable…"-Faith smiled when she remembered the way Buffy let her take control… The blonde Slayer just needed to get away from being the responsible one, the one who was always in charge, and Faith was happy to be able to help.

"I'd actually love to see what Buffy's like when she's not bossy."

"I'd be bossy too if I were her. I had to lead you guys for a day and I never felt so alone, and trust me I'd been alone a lot. But, hey, you'll probably never see that side of Buffy. If you do, I'll kick your ass."-Faith joked and realized she felt jealous when she thought someone else could have Buffy that way, be all over her all night, making her moan and scream…and enjoy her soft lips and fingers all over their bodies. She didn't wanna think about it.

"Faith… you love her, don't you?"

"Ken, stop it. I can't talk about Buffy now. I just wanna know that she's ok. I was such a dick to her."

"It's not your fault that she left."

"Maybe. Maybe she would have stayed if I hadn't told her she was just a fun way to pass the time and that I enjoyed Italian women. Ken, there was no other woman. I made her think I've been with loads, but she was the only one. It was always just about her."

Faith's voice sounded huskier than usually, like it was breaking, and Kennedy felt sorry for her. She gently petted her shoulder, but Faith got up and left without saying a word.

Kennedy watched her disappear into the castle, and she wondered if the Chosen Two would end up having a happy ending.

Sure as hell, they both deserved it.


	9. Chapter 9

Briget Kelly, a girl who had once been beautiful, but now looked pale, weak and seemed like a shadow of herself, walked home from the dingy little bar she worked in. She'd been trying to stay clean, she started going to NA meetings, but it was just too hard for her and she always relapsed.

She had no one to fight for, and no one cared about if she was clean or lying dead in an alley somewhere. But, she didn't think anyone hated her either, not the way she hated herself. Every time she looked in the mirror she saw Sean's face; a happy, adorable little blonde angel who loved her and trusted her, and she led him to death.

She let down her sister, who was the only person in the world that ever cared about her and she just couldn't live with it. Every day she tried to forget by drinking and snorting pills, but unfortunately, it helped only temporary. Once she got sober, she hated herself even more and it made her drink again.

It was like a cursed circle she just couldn't get out of. Sometimes she felt like a hamster running around in the little wheel, unable to stop and get out. Sometimes she felt like she was running too fast and her heart would explode if she continued, but she still carried on.

"Yo, Bridge, wait up!"-yelled a guy who was going to the NA meetings with her, but also struggled with sobriety a lot.

"Steve, I got nothing on me. Been clean for a week now."-Bridget said, continuing to walk, she needed to get away from him.

"Good for you! Just wanted to say hi, you know, I wasn't gonna give ya nothing. Nothing's for free nowadays, girl, if you want to get drugs or booze ya gotta pay. In one way or another…"-Steve winked and checked her out openly, and it made her roll her eyes and walk faster. She'd fucked people just to get drugs before, and she didn't wanna do it anymore.

"Fuck off, Steve. Gotta go."-Bridget said and ran home, squeezing her fists hard, forcing herself to carry on running forward, not back to Steve to get something, anything.

She started crying, feeling like the world was crumbling down on her again and forcing her to give up her sobriety for the umptenth time.

"Bridget, you got mail. The postman accidentally left it in my mailbox… he's not used to delivering letters to you, I guess."-said Mrs. Walker, an elderly lady who lived alone, with her dog Sparky.

"What?"-Bridget asked, thinking she probably missunderstood. It was probably just another bill, not a letter.

"You got a letter. From someone named Siobhan Martin."

Bridget's heart started beating faster. It was like some higher power brought that letter to her just when she was about to get in the house and look for a bottle of JD she had hidden under the bed.

"Are you all right?"-Mrs. Walker asked when she handed a letter to Bridget and she just stared at the envelope like it might explode.

"Yeah… Thanks, Mrs. Walker."-Bridget said and walked to her small apartment, holding the letter tightly in her hand, like it might disappear if she let go of it.

She sat on the bed and started reading… her heart was beating like a drum, she couldn't believe what she was reading. They had another sister, who was in New York and Siobhan invited her to come over. More importantly, her sister wrote that she finally realized Sean's death had been an accident.

"I forgive you."-Bridget read out loud, and started crying harder. Every day she wished she could hear Siobhan say she forgave her, that it wasn't her fault… Now that it happened, Bridget couldn't believe it.

She cried so hard she couldn't breathe, and pressed the letter on her chest like she wanted those words to get in her heart and make it heal.

There was something else in the envelope and when Bridget pulled out a necklace she'd always shared with Siobhan, she got so touched and surprised she just continued crying. She put it around her neck, and held the pendant in her hand, tears still running down her pale face.

Siobhan wanted her to come to New York to come meet Buffy and hang out. Bridget couldn't remember when was the last time she felt so happy.

She took a bottle of JD from under the bed and spilt alcohol in the sink.

After meeting Buffy, Siobhan still had free time and she decided to go see Henry. She knew Gemma was still working, and Henry was at home with their twins, Becks and Dash, trying to write.

He wasn't the best writer, but she felt sorry for him because people kept refusing to publish his books. She thought his book 'City Burns' wasn't so bad. She liked to listen to him read her that book.

She pressed the door bell and got surprised when Gemma opened the door instead of Henry. She hid her disappointment well, though, by hugging her 'best friend' and saying:

"I didn't know if you'd be home, but was passing by and wanted to say hi."

"I'm glad you stopped by, sweetie. I've just had a fight with Henry. He cares about his book more than me. I thought about using my money to help him publish it, but his rudeness made me change my mind."

"Ah, guys. Andrew cares about his company more than me."

"At least you guys have sex. I don't know when was the last time I saw Henry naked."

I saw him naked just last week.-Siobhan thought and wished she could just run to Henry and fuck him right there, with Gemma in the house. She loved the thrill, one of their best nights together was in the Hamptons, while Gemma and Andrew were sleeping and not suspecting anything.

"Maybe you should find fun elsewhere… Just kidding!"-Siobhan added when she saw incredulous look on Gemma's face.

"I know I'm stupid, but I love Henry."-said Gemma and Siobhan thought: Yeah, you really are stupid. He loves me, don't you see it?

Of course, she couldn't say that, and she made a sad face and said: "I'm sure you guys will sort things out. It's not like Andrew and I are all over each other all the time."

"I thought you were… It's not like you guys come over to hang with us anymore."-said Henry, who just got downstairs and gave her a meaningful look.

"Hey, Henry. We've just been busy, but I promise we'll hang soon."-Siobhan said, smiling because she knew that Gemma didn't know what they meant.

"Looking forward to it."-Henry said and went to hang out with his little men not to give away how much he wanted to 'hang out' with Siobhan at that moment. That woman was incredible in bed, and he couldn't get enough of her.

Oh me too-Siobhan thought and kissed Gemma's cheek before saying she had to go home, but that she would get in touch for coffee soon.

As soon as she got out of their house, Siobhan texted Henry: '2nite, 7 30? ;)'

He grinned when he read the text and replied: 'Hell yeah. Missed you.'

Siobhan smiled, knowing how much Henry wanted and loved her made her feel good. She called Solomon to pick her up and she went home.

Buffy didn't have to go to work till ten p.m. and she went home, lay on the couch and hit play on her Veronica Mars DVD.

It was 2 pm now and she took her cell phone and ordered pizza. She didn't wanna cook, she just wanted to be lazy and have a Veronica Mars marathon. She was just starting season 2 and she was happy she had season 3 DVD's as well.

Her pizza arrived at 2: 30 pm and she started eating slowly, her eyes glued to the TV. She jumped a little when she heard knocking on the door and opened.

It was Nicki, smiling to her. She had a chocolate in her hand and said: "Hi. Couldn't wait to get off of work to see you…"

Buffy smiled and said: "Hey… Come in. You can have some pizza and watch Veronica Mars with me."

"I was thinking we could do something more fun…"-Nicki said and kissed Buffy passionately. Buffy returned the kiss, but moved away when Nicki pulled her in her arms and cupped her ass. She wasn't ready to make their…whatever it was… something regular. She wanted to see Nicki and get to know her better, but she wanted to do it slowly. It wasn't fair to make Nicki fall for her completely when she still thought about Faith pretty much every minute of the day.

"Nicki… I like you, but I wanna get to know you, hang out with you… Sex was great last night, but I wanna go slowly. I'm not ready for something big."-Buffy said, worried that she sounded colder than she intended to. She just had to pull a line somewhere.

Nicki looked a bit disappointed, but Buffy was once again touched because she was really understanding. "Buffy… I want you so bad, I never wanted anyone like this. After last night, I just want more and I kinda forgot about your recent relationship. You were mine last night. But… it's up to you, when you're ready for more, let me know. Let's watch Veronica Mars then. Not my favorite show, but…"

"Thanks, Nicki."-Buffy said and kissed her lips gently, and then she asked: "So, what's your favorite show?"

"Doctor Who. Karen Gillan is adorable. She plays Amy, his new companion."-Nicki said and noticed the confused look on Buffy's face. "I'll bring the DVD's tomorrow. You don't know what you're missing."

"Deal."-Buffy said and handed a slice of pizza to Nicki and got comfy in her arms to watch Veronica Mars.


	10. Chapter 10

Siobhan got to the hotel at 7 20 pm. She wanted to be there a bit before Henry, to be able to take off her clothes and wait for him in bed.

She wore her new pair of underwear; a red bra and a tiny red thong. She lay down on the bed on her belly, and then remembered she was pregnant and she lay on her side and held her head up on her left hand, her right hand on her stomach, which still looked very sexy.

When she married Andrew, she promised him she'd always be faithful, loving and supportive, but when it was time to discuss having kids, she said just: "Andrew, I don't want kids. Not now or in the future."

He'd been disappointed, but he still married her, hoping she'd change her mind along the way. She didn't want kids now either, but she thought she might use this baby to get more money from Andrew when it was time.

She glanced at the clock and smiled when she heard Henry's footsteps. It was 7 29 pm when he entered the room, holding a bottle of wine and smiling…

Punctual as always… got him so whipped…-Siobhan thought and smiled to her lover, who looked like he wanted to eat her up when he saw her lying there in that sexy underwear…

Buffy got to 'Night Express', ready for her shift, dressed into a tiny black skirt, stockings and a black tank top.

Nicki was there, waiting for her, but Buffy didn't even manage to go say hi to her because Bodaway dragged her to the back room straight away.

"What's with the hurry?"-Buffy asked, looking at his hand that was still gripping her upper arm.

"A very important client is in town and he wants you."

"How does he know that he wants me, I've just danced once so far…"

"I recommended you and as soon as he saw the video of you dancing, he said 'I want her.'"

"This VIP guy doesn't get any special treatment, does he?"-Buffy asked, worried.

"He gets whatever he asks for, Buffy. Be a good girl."-Bodaway said, slapped her ass and led her to the private room.

Nicki looked all around,trying to see where Buffy had gone when the other girls got on stage without her.

She sat at the bar, ordered a beer and asked Shaylene: "Where's Buffy?"

"In a private room. A VIP client wanted her specifically."

"Does that mean that… she has to fuck him?"-Nicki asked, not happy at all. She chugged her beer and lit a cigarette.

"Yes, if he asks her to, she's got to do it."-Shaylene said, looking like she felt sorry for Buffy. Her boyfriend was sitting there and he also chugged his beer when he imagined his girlfriend please some creepy guy like that.

"Dammit!"-Nicki cursed, downed her beer, slammed the glass against the bar, paid and ran out into the night.

Buffy sat on the bed, waiting for this VIP guy and opened a beer after a very long time… to be specific, after turning into a cave girl.

She made sure it wasn't Black Frost and sipped it slowly, trying to stop feeling so nervous.

This guy entered the room and Buffy had to blink twice, not believing who she was seeing.

"Buffy Summers. We meet again."

"How…?"-Buffy asked, standing up and getting in her fight mode.

"Play along, Buffy. You don't want your creepy boss to shoot you dead? I'd much rather drink your blood."

"There will be no blood drinking. What the hell are you doing here?!"-Buffy asked, her eyes angry and focused on this unexpected guest.

"Xander, my man servant, asked me to find you. He felt bad about the fight, and he said that the other Slayer, Faith, almost strangled him again. He had to promise her he'd help her find you and he decided to contact me. Who's better at finding a Slayer than the Mighty Count Dracula?"

"Don't call him a man servant. So, did you hypnotize Bodaway to make him think you were a VIP?" Her heart beat faster when she asked the next question: "Is… is Faith here with you?"

"No. She wanted to come with me, but I prefer to travel alone. Wanted to spend some time alone with you… I'll never forget the way your blood tasted, I want some more."

"You can't have it. Thrall left our relationship years ago, remember?"

"Yes, but you will do it to save the innocents in this bar. And then you'll come with me. I can't let you continue working here. It's beneath you."

"I had no choice. But… thanks."-Buffy said, frowning a little because it seemed unbelievable that, of all people, Dracula was the one that would save her from stripping.

"Man servant said you should have taken some Council money with you. You wouldn't have had to work at all."

"XANDER. Yeah, maybe I should have. But, Giles is the head of the Council now and I couldn't steal from him. Ok, so… drink and let's get the hell out of here."

Buffy lifted her hair up and closed her eyes when Dracula got closer to her. He pulled her closer, very gently, caressed her cheek and said: "Nothing can compare to Slayer's blood. Your blood. I've lived for a very long time, but I'd never tasted something so amazing…"

He licked her neck and Buffy shuddered, he just wanted him to bite and get it over with. She wasn't into having any kind of 'foreplay' with the Unholy Prince.

She gasped and sobbed when Dracula bit into her neck, the same place he'd bitten the first time, and started sucking hungrily. She gripped his arms thinking she would have broken them if he was an ordinary human. He was very strong, though, and he just drank more, enjoying the taste of her blood so much he didn't wanna stop…

He let go of her when she was on the brink of passing out and said: "Let's go, Killer."

Dracula got to Bodaway and said: "You will not remember that Buffy Summers worked here. None of the people in this club will know her."

Bodaway smiled, totally hypnotized and agreed. Dracula smiled, pulled Buffy's hand and left the bar with her. She went to her apartment, took her stuff and left with Dracula.

Siobhan and Henry were having sex, and he was surprised because, for once, she wasn't in charge and it was really slow and romantic. They were both taking their time, just kissing and caressing each other's body until they both thought they'd explode if he didn't enter her.

"I love you, Shiv…"-whispered Henry, looking into her eyes, kissing her lips and neck as he sped up his pace a little.

"Love you too, Henry… I have to… tell you something…"

"Later… I don't wanna talk right now…"-Henry said, kissing her neck and gently pressing her breasts…

Siobhan moaned, Henry really was a great lover. He was thoughtful, gentle, passionate and he always put her needs first.

Once they were done, they lay there, holding each other and breathing hard…

"Now… what did you wanna tell me?"-Henry asked and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm pregnant."-Siobhan said and smiled when she saw a surprised, but happy look on his face.

"Oh my god, babe, that's incredible!"

He started kissing her face and lips, looking genuinely happy, and Siobhan was glad that he not once suspected that the baby might not be his. Cause, to be quite honest with herself, she wasn't sure.

"Yeah… Henry, I can't continue living a lie. I wanna be with you all the time, every day… I need Andrew's money, though. I accidentally stumbled upon his bank account password earlier and transferred some money to my account. Couldn't take a lot at once and I have to keep doing it… but, I don't ever want him to think it was me, so I need to do something… something kinda drastic, but I need you to trust me. I'll sort everything out and we'll be together."

"I'm with you a hundred percent. I'd do anything to be with you…"

"Would you kill Gemma to be with me?"-Siobhan asked, but when Henry looked at her, shocked, she said: "Just kidding!"

"You're so funny…"-Henry said and kissed her, wondering if she was actually serious when she asked that question.

"I know…"-Siobhan smiled and kissed her lover passionately.

Buffy and Dracula walked down the street, his arm around her to help her walk because she was still a bit weak.

"I can't leave New York yet. I have some unfinished business here."-Buffy said and Dracula answered:

"You don't have to leave New York, I just have to let man servant know you're here, alive and well."

"I'd be better if you hadn't drunk my blood."-Buffy looked at Dracula, grudgingly.

They got to his mansion and she was surprised to see that he had a laptop. She lifted her eye brow and Dracula said:

"I know. Stupid technology, but man servant wanted me to have it, to be able to talk to you. Of course, you're gonna have to run it cause this is still a mystery to me."

"His name is XANDER. I don't wanna warn you again, Drac."

"Fine, Xander. And don't call me Drac."

Buffy rolled her eyes and started a Skype video call with an icon that was, shockingly, named 'man servant'.

It took a while to load it, but she smiled when she saw Xander all over her screen.

"Hey, Xand."

"Hey, Buff. Faith will be here in a moment, she's just on the phone with Robin."

Buffy felt butterflies when she heard Faith would be there, but when she heard she was talking to Robin, she thought it was to set a booty call or something.

"Ok. What's up?"-she asked, shortly, still a bit hurt because of the way her friends treated her.

Just when Xander was about to answer,Faith burst in and yelled:

"Hey, B.! You selfish fuck, you couldn't have told me about your trip!?"

Buffy smiled, she could tell Faith wasn't angry, but relieved to see her.

"You know, when someone tells you you were nothing but a notch on a bed post, you don't really wanna call to say 'I love you, good bye.'"

Xander and Dracula both stared at Buffy and Faith, looking surprised, and they both said: "Get out!"

"B. I know what I said. We both know I didn't mean it."

"Why did you say it then?"

"You know I'm a bit messed up. I got really sad, mad and worried when I got back and you weren't there."

"Admit you just wanted to have some fun and I wasn't there."-Buffy teased, but Faith lit a cigarette and said: "Well, yeah, that too… So, how have you been? When are you coming back?"

"I don't know. I think I should stay here in New York for a while. Some things came up…"

"Did ya meet someone?"

Buffy felt guilty when she remembered her night with Nicki and she didn't answer straight away.

"So you did."-Faith said and inhaled smoke deeply.

"Faith… I don't wanna talk about it now, this way… it feels wrong."

"I wanna see you. I'll ask Giles to buy me a ticket to New York and then we'll talk. And I'll fuck you so good you'll never think about being with someone else again."

"Do you mean… do you want me to be… your girlfriend? Exclusively?"-Buffy asked, smiling cause Faith just had to be all crude when deep down she wanted to say something nice.

"Maybe. I'll be there as soon as I can. Wait for me at the airport. Wear something sexy…"

"Maybe."-Buffy winked and they both smiled.

"B., it's 4 am here, so I'm going to bed. Have a good evening."

"Sleep tight, Faith."

"Hope I'll dream about you."-Faith said, and Buffy thought it was adorable…

"I hope so too."

They said bye, disconnected, and Buffy lay in bed too, happy that she was able to sleep instead of dancing for some creep.


	11. Chapter 11

Flying from Wyoming to New York wasn't a nice experience for Bridget. She was afraid of flying and she was thinking about taking a few pills to calm down, but she wanted to be sober when she met her sisters.

A three hours long flight was like being in hell. Bridget kept her eyes closed, holding on to the seat like her life depended on it. Her palms were sweating and her heart was beating like crazy.

As soon as she landed, Bridget ran to the closest toilet and washed her face, which was even paler than usually.

Her heart was beating so fast, she thought she'd get a heart attack. She was dying to see Siobhan and to meet Buffy, but she was so nervous... She thought one of the reasons she was so freaked was cause she hadn't taken anything for a bit over a week.

She took a deep breath and walked towards the check out gates. Siobhan was there, waiting for her, and she looked stunning.

She was wearing a black shirt, and a light white jacket and a white skirt. Her hair was in a bun, looking perfect, while Bridget's was let down, wavy and messy.

Her legs felt shaky as she walked towards Siobhan, who gave her a little smile.

"Hello, sis."-said Siobhan and forced a smile, and she hoped that it looked warm. Bridget looked like hell, and Siobhan hardly suppressed a frown.

"Hey, Shiv."

"Come here…"-Siobhan said and pulled Bridget into a hug. Bridget hugged her back tightly, feeling tears run down her face. When they broke the hug, Bridget wiped her eyes and said:

"Sorry, I… I never thought I'd hug you again."

"I see you're wearing a necklace… "

"Do you want it back?"-Bridget asked and Siobhan waved her head. "No, it's your turn for a year."

Xander transferred some money on Buffy's bank account, and it was enough to pay for renting an apartment in a better neighborhood. It was just a few streets away from Siobhan's house, but Buffy didn't know that then…

It was a bit bigger apartment, it had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a really nice balcony with a great view.

Dracula slept during the day and Buffy was glad because he creeped her out. He was so gentle and treating her with respect, but she knew that he acted like that just because her blood was The Best Blood In The World.

She knew Bridget was supposed to get there, so as she walked down the street, she called Siobhan.

"Hey, Shiv… Has Bridget arrived yet?"

"Yeah, she just got here. We're heading to the Hamptons. Tell me where you are, we'll get you by the way."

"I'm somewhere on Park Avenue, but can't see any address here. Oh, Ritz tower. That's where I'm now."

"See ya soon, Buffy."-Siobhan said, thinking it wouldn't be the most convinient thing if Buffy started frequently going to Park Avenue, it was too close to her so called perfect home she shared with Andrew.

Nicki went to look for Buffy to her apartment, but she wasn't home. She peeked through the window and realized that Buffy had moved out, the place didn't look like anyone lived there.

Bodaway noticed her and asked: "Are you looking for an apartment?"

"Oh, hey, you're Buffy's boss. Have you seen her?"-Nicki asked and Bodaway frowned.

"I don't know anyone named Buffy. What kind of a name is that?"

Nicki didn't understand a thing anymore, and she didn't like it. "Sorry, I must have mistaken you with someone.", she said and walked away, frowning because she thought the whole thing was really strange.

Buffy ran to a cab when she heard Siobhan's voice calling her, and jumped in.

"Man, I don't get to see such pretty triplets every day."-a Paki taxi driver said and Buffy smiled and said:

"Hey, Bridget, nice to meet you. I'm Buffy."

"Nice to meet you too, Buffy. This still feels like a dream…"

"It does, doesn't it?"-Buffy agreed and observed Bridget.

She seemed to be a simple woman, wearing just jeans and a shirt, similar to that checked one Buffy had stolen from Faith. Her hair was let down, wavy and messy, and even though they all looked so alike, they were so different.

Bridget looked like someone who'd been through a lot; her skin was pale, she was thinner than herself and Siobhan and looked like she could use a healthy meal and some sleep.

Siobhan looked perfect, as always, like a proper lady who never had to work and who had everything served on a silver platter.

Both Bridget and Siobhan thought Buffy was very pretty, she had style and seemed cool, but somehow looked older, kinda wiser and like she'd seen enough to know that the world wasn't the way most people thought it was. It was one thing they all had in common; they'd been through different versions of hell and learned to protect themselves from the world one way or another.

"My god, this place is beautiful. Siobhan, your life seems perfect…"-Bridget said, admiring the apartment in the Hamptons and, well, admiring Siobhan herself, who had a beautiful life.

"It's close to it, but no one's life is perfect."-Siobhan said, thinking about Sean and her loveless marriage.

"True. We all have our demons, Bridget, don't worry, you're not the only one. Shiv told me about your drug problem… Sorry I'm bringing it up so soon, but just wanted to say I'm not judging you. We all make mistakes."

Bridget's eyes got teary but she smiled to Buffy and said: "Thanks, Buffy. I've been clean for nine days. Planning to stay that way, but it's really not easy."

"Girls, want a drink? Got some wine… oh, Bridget, sorry, I didn't mean to… Uh, we should have some tea."-Siobhan really made a mistake, she wasn't gonna tease Bridget. She wanted Bridget to feel like everything between them was all right.

"It's fine… Tea sounds great."-Bridget said, smiling weakly, and wished she could just have a glass of wine without craving the whole bottle then.

"So, how was your flight?"-Buffy asked, trying to change the subject.

"Horrifying. I hate flying. I had my eyes closed most of the time, and couldn't wait to land."

"Awww, I'm not a fan of flying either. But, I usually fall asleep and don't mind it that much then."-Buffy smiled and took a cup of tea when Siobhan placed a tray in front of her.

Bridget also sipped her tea and had to admit it was really nice. "So, when do we meet your husband?"-she asked Siobhan.

"Andrew doesn't exactly know about you…"-Siobhan said, looking at her cup instead of making eye contact with Bridget.

"He doesn't know about my visiting?"

"He doesn't know I have a sister… sisters."-Siobhan corrected herself and looked at Buffy too.

Bridget looked hurt, but she didn't comment anything. She didn't think she had any right to complain.

Maybe someday Siobhan will stop being ashamed of me. I just have to try hard and stay sober. I can do it for her, I can…-Bridget thought, it was time for her to do something right for once.

Buffy was wearing a scarf to hide Dracula's bite, and she noticed that Siobhan kept looking at it. It was red and it matched perfectly with Buffy's black shirt with a red writing on it: Good Girls Go To Heaven, Bad Girls Go To Sunnydale.

She had that t-shirt made when she got to Scotland. Faith wrote it for her and Buffy thought it looked great and asked to have it printed on a T-shirt.

Her black leather pants and a jacket looked really good on her combined with that scarf and t-shirt, that combination of clothes really made her look like a bad girl.

Siobhan's phone rang and she said: "Sorry, girls, I have to go now, Andrew needs me at home. If you wanna stay here, you can."

"No, I'm going home. Bridget, you can stay with me if you want to."-Buffy said and smiled when Bridget smiled to her, relieved she wouldn't have to stay alone.

"Thanks, I'd love to."

Siobhan wasn't happy. It looked like her sisters were about to bond, and she hated the fact that she couldn't keep her eye on them. Her plan wouldn't work if she had to worry about more factors than she thought.

She told the cabby to drive her sisters home first because she wanted to hang with them a bit longer, but, the truth was that she just wanted to see where they were staying. She got even more unhappy and worried when she saw how close they were to her house, and she knew she had to do something really, really fast.

At least her pregnancy was still early and it wouldn't be a big obstacle. It might even be helpful. When she stayed in a cab alone, she dialed a number and said:

"I need your help. See you at church later."

Without saying bye, Siobhan hanged up and thought hard about what she was supposed to do next. She had to act fast, before everything got even more complicated.


	12. Chapter 12

"Wow, you have an amazing house. Am I the only failure here?"-Bridget asked when she looked around Buffy's new home.

"Don't be silly, you're not a failure… You've been clean and now you just have to stay that way. Now you have two sisters to help you."-Buffy said and offered Bridget a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Buffy. I hope I can be a better sister to you than I was to Shiv. I'm not proud of myself, but I hope I can make amends now that we're together again."

"I hope I can be a better sister to you than I was to Dawnie. So, what do you wanna do?"

"I'm dying to hang with you a little, but I can hardly keep my eyes open now. That horrible flight tired me out."-Bridget said and muffled a yawn.

"I know the feeling. I slept till eleven the first day I got here. I don't remember the last time I slept that long. Let me show you your room."

Buffy led Bridget to the room that was furthest from the one where Dracula slept. She couldn't wait for him to leave.

"It's awesome… I'll pay for the rent as soon as I can. I don't have much money on me now."-Bridget said, looking uncomfortable, and Buffy smiled: "Sisters don't have to pay the rent. Just have a good rest, and don't worry about anything now."

"Thank you."-said Bridget, whose eyes got teary, and she pulled Buffy into a tight hug. Buffy felt good hugging her and she gently kissed Bridget's forehead before she moved away.

When Buffy heard snoring coming out from Bridget's room, she went to see Dracula. "You have to leave. Now. I have a guest here and she can't see you. I can't explain everything about my life yet."-Buffy said, knowing that the old vampire heard her even though his eyes were closed, and he looked deader than usually.

"You know what you have to give me if you want me to leave…"-Dracula said, opened his eyes and licked his lips.

"Fine, but then you have to disappear. Turn into a fog or something and don't come back."-Buffy said, sounding bossy and a bit pissed off. She pulled her scarf off and before she could blink, Dracula was next to her, pulling her closer to bite into her neck.

She didn't make a sound when she felt his teeth break the skin, nor when she heard him suck her blood hungrily. "God, Killer, I wanna keep you with me forever."-Dracula said and licked his lips.

"Leave. Now."-Buffy said, and held her neck, feeling a bit dizzy. It was a good thing that he knew how much he could drink without making her pass out. He blew her a kiss, turned into fog and disappeared.

"Thank god."-Buffy whispered and went to the bathroom to put a band aid on her neck. Then she wore a sweater, left a message for Bridget on the fridge and went out, locking the door behind her. She needed some fresh air and a lot of junk food to get some energy that was taken away from her when Dracula drank.

She sat in a café and ordered a huge double burger and fries, and it reminded her of Faith and her wicked appetite. Then she remembered that Faith would soon come to New York to see her and she smiled; she missed her more than she wanted to.

Just when she finished her food, she heard Nicki calling out her name. "Thank god this city isn't as big as it looks. Why did you just take off?"-Nicki asked and sat at her table and Buffy smiled and said:

"Yeah, looks like the world is a tiny place, and this city even tinier. It's good to see you, Nicki."

"Good to see you too."-Nicki said and pulled Buffy into a kiss. It was passionate, and Buffy felt a bit guilty when she returned it, but it was pretty much impossible not to.

"I was just gonna go for a walk, wanna join me? I need to talk to you…"-Buffy said, hoping she wouldn't hurt Nicki with her 'Faith talk'.

"I live just a block away, we can go to my place. I'll just grab a burger, ok?"-Nicki said and Buffy nodded.

Soon they walked towards Nicki's apartment and Nicki asked: "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

"You know, the girl I told you about… she's coming to New York, she wants to work things out. I… I think we should just be friends. I know I'm horrible, but I don't think it's fair to get your hopes up."-Buffy felt bad when she saw the disappointed look on Nicki's face.

"Say something."-Buffy said when Nicki just continued to walk in silence. They got to her apartment and Nicki opened the door and said: "I don't know if I can be just a friend to you, Buffy. I couldn't get you out of my head after we had sex… and then you just vanished."

Nicki sat on the couch next to Buffy and looked into her eyes, and reached for her hand. Buffy let her catch her hand, but when she leaned in for a kiss, she said: "Nicki, please… I shouldn't have come here… I just… you're the only friend I've made here, and I'd love to keep hanging out with you… You're beautiful, funny and smart and you can find another girl in five minutes. That girl would probably be less messed up than me."

"I want you. Like, right now… Let me have you, even if it's the last time."-Nicki whispered and put her hand on Buffy's thigh.

Faith quickly packed her bag, she thanked god she didn't have a lot of clothes and stuff, so it took her less than fifteen minutes to pack everything. She always wanted to go to New York, and she could bet it would be even more epic to see if with Buffy. She was sure even the cemetaries were amazing there, and she couldn't wait to go patrol there.

Slaying was in her blood, she loved to do it, and she never really understood why Buffy wasn't more excited about it. Maybe she was just pretending to be all uptight, it's not like she was that way in bed. Faith thought about that sexy little body and bit her lip when she remembered all the things that she'd done to it. She couldn't wait to be all over Buffy again. Time has to go real quick now…-Faith thought when she finally said bye to everyone and jumped in the cab to go to the airport.

Siobhan met her friend John in 'church'. It was a church that was actually turned into a goth looking bar. He had been sitting there, having a whiskey when she got there. She had big black sunglasses on, she took them off when she sat at the table with John.

"The usual?"-the waitress asked. Siobhan usually drank martini, but this time she said: "No, just water, please."

The waitress nodded and John asked: "So, Shiv, what can I do for you?"

He looked a bit tipsy, and his blue eyes were shining… Siobhan thought she should find someone who didn't like alcohol that much to do her dirty jobs, but John had already proved to be trustworthy. And, he was good in bed, too. He was so much different from Henry and Andrew, much kinkier and fun.

"Kill me."

John got so surprised he spat out his drink and asked: "Kill you? Shiv, you know I'd do anything for you, but… have you lost your mind?"

Siobhan just smiled and looked at him, entertained because of the stunned look on his face. It really wasn't easy to shock John like that and she felt proud of herself.

Buffy and Nicki started making out on the couch, Nicki had already pulled her top off and started teasing her nipples through the bra… Buffy played with her brown locks that reminded her of Faith's so much…

"How did you hurt your neck?"-Nicki asked when she saw the red sticking plaster on it.

"It's nothing, just a scratch…"-Buffy said and gentlymoved Nicki's head away from it.

She moaned when Nicki got rid of her thong and started rubbing her hard and fast. Nicki decided to be rough and very passionate, so Buffy would feel that pleasant pain all over for days… She wanted her to think about it even if her girl got to New York.

"God, you're sexy…"-Nicki whispered and licked Buffy's ear, and suddenly pushed two fingers inside, making Buffy gasp and pull her hair hard.

They were both naked then and Nicki grabbed Buffy's breast and squeezed it hard, pulling the nipple slowly with before she started sucking on it hungrily while fucking her as hard as she could.

Buffy moaned like crazy, her pussy was throbbing and really wet… Her tits started getting red from all the sucking and biting, but it felt so good… "You love it rough, don't you?"-Nicki whispered and kissed her passionately, pulling her lower lip with her teeth, while pushing the third finger in hard.

"Fuck, yes…"-Buffy moaned loudly, closed her eyes and let Nicki's free hand wander all over her body, marking it with her nails…

"I know you'll come back for more, baby…"-Nicki whispered and licked Buffy's neck.

"Gooooood… Faiittttttttth…"-Buffy moaned, completely unaware that she screamed out the wrong name.

Nicki stopped fucking her and pulled out suddenly, which made Buffy open her eyes. "Why'd you stop?"-Buffy asked, annoyed cause she was really close to orgasming.

"You called me Faith."-Nicki said, looking hurt. Buffy didn't really know what to say, so she just mumbled: "Geez, I… Sorry… Nicki, I…"

"Get out."

Buffy was really uncomfortable and she quickly got dressed and left as fast as she could. She just said "Bye." and glanced at Nicki before she left her apartment. Nicki never said bye or anything else and she felt so bad for hurting that girl. But, it was over, Buffy didn't think Nicki would ever call her for a booty call again.

Her whole body was still throbbing, and as soon as she got home, she jumped in the shower and started masturbating to achieve the orgasm Nicki wouldn't give to her. Faith was the only thing on her mind and she couldn't wait to be all over her…


	13. Chapter 13

Buffy was lying on the couch, watching a movie and eating popcorn with Bridget when her phone rang. It was ten p.m. and she wondered who it was. Her heart beat faster when she recognized Faith's number.

"Hey, F, what's up?"-Buffy answered the phone and shot up from the couch when she heard Faith say: "Just landed in NY, B. JFK Airport. Can you pick me up?"

"Sure. Give me half an hour, I'll take a cab."

"Five by five. Wanna go for a patrol before going to your place. You up for it?"

"Sounds good. I've got a surprise for you later."-Buffy said, smiling to Bridget. Faith didn't know about her new sisters.

"Is it naughty?"-Faith asked and grinned.

"No, don't be such a perv. See ya in a bit, Faith."

"See ya, B."

Buffy hanged up and said to Bridget: "My friend from Sunnydale just got to New York. I have to go to the airport to meet her and we might go for a walk. Sorry I'm bailing on you now, I'll try not to stay long. "

"It's ok. I'll just finish this movie and have the whole bowl of popcorn for myself."-Bridget smiled and Buffy thought she looked much better after some sleep and food.

"Knock yourself out."-Buffy smiled and left the apartment, really excited about seeing Faith. Her heart was going crazy she thought it'd break her chest…

Faith sat at the airport bar and ordered a beer. She was thirsty and kinda nervous about seeing Buffy. Also, she was excited about patrolling with the blonde Slayer, it had been a while since they'd done it. Of course, they'd ended up in bed afterwards and Faith couldn't wait to get to that part.

She had almost finished her beer when she saw Buffy walking towards her. She paid and walk towards Buffy to meet her halfway.

"Hey, Faith…"-Buffy said and smiled.

"Hey, B."-Faith responded, wondering if she should go for a kiss or a hug or nothing at all. When Buffy spread her arms for a hug, she accepted it, awkwardly; she'd never been a big hug girl.

"So, been to any cool cemetaries yet?"-Faith asked, trying to break the awkward silence that followed the hug.

"No, haven't had time. But, I know where one is. We can walk there, it's not far."

"Cool. So, gonna tell me what the surprise is?"

"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise then… You're so gonna fall on your ass."-Buffy chuckled and grabbed Faith's hand to run across the street, to get to the cemetary.

"This place is huge. Must be crawling with vamps!"-Faith was in awe.

"Hope not. I really need some slayless time."-Buffy said, hoping she'd get some of sexy Faith time. She was really excited about it, she'd missed Faith's touch and kisses so much.

"So why did you agree to go patrolling?"-Faith asked, and Buffy quickly pinned her against the mausoleum door and kissed her hard. "To be able to… do this…"-Buffy said and Faith passionately kissed her back, rolling Buffy over so she could be pinning the blondie down.

"Good thinking."-Faith said and started kissing Buffy's neck. She got worried, and confused when she saw the bite on Buffy's neck. When Buffy explained how she got it, Faith got mad. No one had a right to taste Buffy. Those damn vamps considered her a blood bank, and she was the most amazing woman in the world.

She started licking and sucking on the wound, to 'hide it' with a hickey. It hurt Buffy a little and she moaned and sobbed loudly, and let Faith sneak her hands under her sweater and play with her tits. They were still a bit bruised and sore from Nicki's bites and Buffy moaned louder.

"Mmmm, missed hearing you moan."-Faith whispered and pushed Buffy inside of a mausoleum. She started kissing her the next moment. Buffy let her take off her sweater and bra, and when Faith saw her a little bruised tits, she pushed Buffy away and yelled: "Ok, what the fuck is this?!"

Buffy froze for a moment, and then she stammered: "It… nothing, Faith… was just… this girl I… it was nothing."

Faith couldn't believe. She knew there had been someone, but she hated imagining someone else all over her girl and she flipped. She punched Buffy in the face before she could stop herself.

"You fuckin' bitch!"-Faith spat and punched Buffy again. This time Buffy punched her back and yelled: "Stop it! I don't wanna fight, it was nothing! I called her Faith and she kicked me out."

It made Faith laugh out loud. But, the laughter sounded bitter and kinda spooky because of the echo in the mausoleum.

"Was she that good? She had mad skills, like me? Is that why you moaned my name?"

There was no good answer to it, and Buffy remained quiet for a moment. Another punch made her speak. "Faith, stop hitting me! I told her about you and I'm never gonna see her again. I'm sorry."

"Fuck you, Buffy. Just get dressed. Not in the mood anymore."-Faith said and lit a cigarette. Buffy never thought she'd hear Faith say those words, Faith was always in the mood. She put her sweater back on and placed a hand on Faith's cheek.

"Come on, Faith… I missed you. Just kiss me, please…"-Buffy said, feeling stupid because she wasn't used to beg for something.

"I flew from Europe to see you, you fuckin' ungrateful bitch!"-Faith yelled and Buffy thought she was gonna punch her again, but she just pushed her roughly against the wall.

"So, you can fuck whoever you want and act like a bitch to me, and I have to be a nun?! Is that it?!"-Buffy yelled, feeling angry and jealous when she remembered what Faith had told her about Italian people.

"THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE, BUFFY! I FUCKIN' LIED CAUSE I WAS SCARED OF MY FEELINGS!"-Faith yelled and punched Buffy again, hurting her felt really good at that moment because she was so hurt and angry.

Buffy just stared at her, feeling tears in her eyes. "What?"-she croaked through tears.

"You fuckin' heard me. I'm going."

"Going where?"-Buffy asked and pulled Faith's sleeve.

"Anywhere but here."-Faith said shortly and stomped on the cigarette butt.

"No, come on, stop it! I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I'm sorry, ok?!"-Buffy yelled and squeezed Faith's hand tightly.

"Whatever, B."-Faith said and exited the mausoleum. Buffy ran after her and yelled: "FAITH, COME ON! Hey, you left your bag!"

Faith turned, grabbed a bag and ran off.

Buffy just watched her leave and then she walked away, into an opposite direction. She pulled a stake out and started looking for some unlucky vampires.

Faith stopped running when she was a few blocks away, sure that Buffy wasn't behind her. She punched the wall hard and got into a bar to get a few drinks. She wanted to get wasted enough to stop thinking about some bitch fucking Buffy.

"Triple JD."-she said to the bartender and lit a cigarette. She just downed it and ordered another one. She got the third round from a guy who was sitting on the opposite side of the bar and she waved to him to say thanks.

He walked over to her and asked: "Why are you drinking alone, sexy?"

"None of your business. Thanks for a drink, but not interested."

She surprised herself when she said that, it was really unlike her. The old Faith would have already pulled him into a bathroom to fuck his brains out. He was quite good looking, but he wasn't Buffy.

"Too bad. Could be fun."-the guy winked and Faith just ordered another drink and ignored him. He took the hint and moved away from a very grumpy looking Faith.

"Fuckin' bitch."-Faith muttered and squeezed her glass so hard it shattered in her hand.

"Miss, are you ok?"-the bartender asked her when he saw her bleeding hand.

"Five by five."-Faith said and ordered another drink. Sometimes she hated her Slayer alcohol resistance, she just wanted to get wasted fast, and it wasn't working. She just left the bar and walked around aimlessly, smoking one cigarette after another.

Bridget had started falling asleep on the couch, but she awoke when she heard the door knob turn. She was expecting to see Buffy and her friend enter the house, but it was Buffy alone. Her face was bruised and she was crying. Bridget got alarmed and worried.

"Oh my god, Buffy, are you ok?! Did someone attack you? Where is your friend?"

Buffy winced when she looked in the mirror and she said: "I'm fine. Faith and I had a fight."

Bridget was confused, Buffy didn't look like someone who would pick up a fight. Besides, she had been all excited to see her friend and she got back home bruised and crying.

"She can throw a good punch."-Buffy said when she noticed the look on Bridget's face.

"Wanna talk about it? I'll make you a cup of tea."-Bridget said, but Buffy stopped her. "No, just… stay with me."

"Ok. I can do that."-Bridget said and they lay on the couch, and embraced each other.

The tv was off and it was the perfect silence until Buffy's phone rang.

"Faith."-she whispered and let the phone keep ringing.

"Aren't you gonna answer?"-Bridget asked, wondering what exactly was going on between Buffy and this Faith girl. Buffy looked a bit too upset for it to be just a fight among friends. Her face showed it was more serious than that.

"Nah."-Buffy said and made a sad face when the phone stopped ringing.

Faith had just gotten to a motel and called Buffy, to apologize for punching her that hard, but she got angry when there was no answer, and she went through the fridge and found tiny bottles of JD, rum and Ballantines, so she downed all of them.

Then she just passed out.


End file.
